The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 13 Guo Family
"Shu Jun, right?"

"Come, please sit down."

County Magistrate Shu Wan stood in front of Wang Su, without any of his usual majesty. He forced a smile on his face, looking extremely uneasy.

Wang Su noticed his uneasiness and asked casually:

"Who is the Longxi prefect, Shu Hun, to you?"

Hearing this, Shu Wan's eyes lit up and he quickly said, "It's my cousin!"

Wang Su smiled and said, "Mr. Shu and I are close friends. When he was still studying in Xuchang, it was my father who recommended him to the imperial court."

"Since you are a member of Mr. Shu's clan, please sit next to me."

After the ceremony, he was overjoyed and quickly bowed to Wang Su, "I'm so grateful for your kindness. I haven't been able to come to see you in time these days. Please forgive me!"

Wang Su asked him to sit next to him and the two of them started chatting.

After a long exchange of pleasantries, Wang Su smiled and said, "The main reason I called you here today is because of the matter concerning the noble Lord."

"The Queen Mother wants to support him to be the emperor, but I think the noble Duke seems to have many concerns."

"What do you think of this man, Mr. Shu?"

After Shu Wan finished speaking, she pursed her lips, lowered her head, and did not dare to answer.

He no longer dared to slander Cao Gong. Even for a young emperor who was not in power, it would be easy for him to kill a county magistrate.

He only needs to say a few words to the general, and the general will certainly be happy to help him solve this little problem.

He has been pretending to be sick these days and dared not go out. He wrote a letter to his cousin at night, hoping to retire from his official position on the pretext of illness and hide away.

Wang Su pointed at the people around him and said, "Mr. Zheng and Mr. Hua are both loyal officials in the court. The warrior in front of the gate is the cavalry commander under the general. They are both trustworthy people."

"Besides, I'm asking you either as the Grand Master of Ceremonies or as your brother's friend. Don't be afraid."

Wang Su behaved very kindly.

After finishing his speech, he dared not remain silent. If the young emperor was scary, did that mean Wang Su was not scary?
No one can afford to offend him.

He had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Actually, Mr. Gaogui is a smart man, but he is a little youthful."

Huabiao couldn't help but say, "That's not what you said when we first came here."

"Just tell the truth, don't be afraid!"

Shu Wan took a deep breath and said seriously, "Gonggui Xianggong used to have a bad reputation in the county."

"He frequently went out to play, indulged in pleasure, and often went to restaurants. He somehow colluded with local merchants and stole their money."

"The lord of the village was extremely greedy for money. Merchants were deceived by him and dared not refuse him, so they had no choice but to offer him money, which he used to continue his enjoyment."

"In addition to colluding with merchants and oppressing good people, he also sheltered many thieves."

"He used the money to help thieves everywhere, taking them in at his mansion, helping them escape the county magistrate's pursuit, and then using them as his henchmen."

"He bullies the good people, yet loves to associate with those despicable hooligans, gathering a group of them to commit violence and violence, and doing all kinds of evil!"

“Everyone in the county was afraid of him and didn’t dare to report him.”

Wang Su asked suspiciously, "Then the Defense Assistant Commander and the State Supervisor around him will not care about him?"

"Guo Ze, the deputy governor, is a staunch and cowardly man. He repeatedly remonstrated with the lord, but the lord ignored him."

"As for that usher, he's either drinking or taking drugs, and he's always in a daze, running around in disheveled clothes. How can we control him?"

Shu Wan's face was filled with grievance. "Prince, you don't know that he even broke into the county government office. He doesn't take the officials in the court seriously at all. He acts recklessly and arrogantly. I really don't understand why the Queen Mother wants him to inherit the throne."

Wang Su fell silent and said nothing.

The knight standing at the door sneered and said, "I'm curious too."

"These past few days, the merchants in Yuancheng seem to be possessed, trying to win over people everywhere, claiming to have received teachings from the Township Lord."

"I think this lord is so obsessed with fame that he's resorting to such vulgar methods to gain it."

"Only those lowly merchants would be used by him, and only those despicable rabble would be bribed by him. The real virtuous people would disdain him."

"How ridiculous of a man to be so self-deprecating as to try to win over those knights-errant, merchants, and hooligans!"

The knight said this with a mocking look on his face.

Obviously, the public sentiment in the eyes of these people is different from that in Cao Mao's eyes.

They were dismissive of Cao Mao's behavior.

It is considered a despicable means of self-debasement. To be respectful to the wise and virtuous, one must be a scholar.

Cao Mao's behavior was simply to use any means to gain fame and to eat anything when he was hungry.

Zheng Mao and Hua Biao remained silent at this moment and said nothing.

Wang Su nodded, then patted Shu Wan on the shoulder and said, "You have a very good reputation in the county. You are a talented person who can be reused. You must work hard and not neglect government affairs." Shu Wan was overjoyed and quickly accepted the order.

Only then did Wang Su let him leave.

After they finished talking and left, Wang Su finally let out a long sigh.

"Send someone to Luoyang and report all this truthfully."

"only!!"

Luoyang, Imperial Palace.

Zhaoyang Hall is located to the north of Taiji Hall, next to the emperor's Shiqian Hall.

In front of the hall are four-meter-tall bronze dragons and bronze phoenixes. The dragon and phoenix sculptures face each other, highlighting the extraordinary nature of this place.

The hall has four doors and corridors, which surround the Zhaoyang Hall, making it a huge palace.

Zhaoyang Palace was the residence of the Queen, but at this moment, it was the residence of the Queen Mother.

There were four people sitting in the hall.

The Queen Mother sat on the upper throne. She was no longer young, but there was no trace of time on her face, and she was still beautiful. She looked very kind and gentle, and people couldn't help but want to protect her. This was probably the reason why Cao Rui fell in love with her.

At this moment, she did not have the aura of a queen mother and looked very approachable.

The people sitting in front of her were her uncle Guo Li, cousin Guo Zhi, cousin Guo De, and cousin Guo Jian.

Currently, the power in the palace is basically divided among these four people.

This is also the source of Guo’s confidence.

Empress Dowager Guo picked up the letter and handed it to Guo Li in front of her.

"This is a letter sent by Zishou by express horse. Please take a look."

Guo Li quickly finished reading it, his face changed drastically, and then he handed it to the people around him to read.

"Nonsense!!!"

Guo Jian couldn't help it and threw the letter to the ground.

"This is ridiculous! Has Guo Ze become stupid from studying?! If he supports Cao Ju, what role does our Guo family have? What role does he have?!"

Empress Dowager Guo was very calm and looked at Guo De beside her.

"Yan Sun, what do you think?"

Guo De said calmly: "Now I know why the emperor refused to succeed to the throne."

"What? He refused?"

Guo Jian looked bewildered.

Guo De ignored his brother and continued, "Either the emperor is afraid of offending my father-in-law, or he's genuinely worried that he might cause discord between us and the Sima family."

"And judging from the descriptions in Guo Zishou's past letters, it should be the latter."

Guo Jian couldn't help but ask, "Maybe they deliberately made us think this way?"

"Impossible. Guo Ze is a man who would never lie. He is a pure gentleman and would not plot anything."

"It seems that he has done a better job as the Defense Assistant Commander than we thought. He has even taught the Emperor to be like himself."

Guo De looked at the Queen Mother.

"The emperor cannot be changed. It seems that he is more suitable to be the emperor than he was a year ago. An emperor like Guo Ze would be great."

"This is a truly wise ruler. This is exactly what the world needs."

The two looked at each other, their eyes flashing.

"Brother, what should we do? Cao Mao refuses to ascend the throne. What if the Sima family just goes along with it?"

Guo Jian asked again.

Guo De still didn't answer his brother. He just looked at the Queen Mother and said seriously, "You'd better not give in. Hold on to your word and you must personally hand over the Emperor's seal to the other party."

"Father, please go find your friends now. Emperor Wen declined three times in the past. Isn't it a good thing that the current emperor is following his grandfather's example?"

"Uncle, please strengthen the security of the palace and prevent outsiders from entering by mistake."

"I have to leave for a while and talk to General Zhengxi."

Guo Jian hurriedly asked, "Brother? What about me? What should I do?"

Guo De looked at his brother with a complicated expression.

"You, go back to your study and read more."

(End of this chapter)